Identifying a route configured to travel through multiple points of interest

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented method for identifying a route that is configured to travel through multiple points of interest includes receiving a query that includes an origin location, a destination location, and at least a first point of interest and a second point of interest. The method also includes identifying a perimeter that surrounds the received origin and destination locations in response to the query. The perimeter is then used to identify a set of locations for each of the first and second points of interest.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 60/746,569, filed on May 5, 2006, and entitled “Identifying A RouteResponsive To Multiple Objectives, ” and from U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 60/829,695, filed on Oct. 17, 2006, and entitled“Identifying A Route Configured To Travel Through Multiple Points OfInterest. ” This application is also a continuation of U.S. applicationSer. No. 11/617,874, filed on Dec. 29, 2006 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,920,965,and entitled “Identifying a Route Configured to Travel through MultiplePoints of Interest, ” which is allowed. The disclosures of theabove-referenced applications are hereby incorporated by reference intheir entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This document relates to identifying a route configured to travelthrough multiple points of interest.

BACKGROUND

A traveler may submit to a host a mapping query to request mappinginformation, such as a suggested route between an origin location and adestination location or driving directions to a destination locationfrom an origin location.

SUMMARY

According to one general aspect, a computer-implemented method foridentifying a route that is configured to travel through multiple pointsof interest includes receiving a query that includes an origin location,a destination location, and at least a first point of interest and asecond point of interest. In response to receiving the query, the methodincludes identifying a perimeter that surrounds the received origin anddestination locations. The method also includes using the identifiedperimeter as a basis for identifying a first set of potential locationsthat corresponds to the received first point of interest and thatrepresents less than all potential locations corresponding to the firstpoint of interest. The method also includes using the identifiedperimeter as a basis for identifying a second set of potential locationsthat corresponds to the received second point of interest and thatrepresents less than all potential locations corresponding to the secondpoint of interest. The method also includes selecting, from the firstand second set of locations, respectively, a single first potentiallocation corresponding to the received first point of interest and asingle second potential location corresponding to the received secondpoint of interest. The method also includes displaying, as an advancedroute, a route from the origin location to the destination location thattravels through the selected single first potential locationcorresponding to the received first point of interest and the selectedsingle second potential location corresponding to the received secondpoint of interest.

Implementations of the above general aspect may include one or more ofthe following features. For example, the first point of interest and thesecond point of interest may each include an indication of anestablishment having multiple locations associated therewith. Foranother example, identifying the perimeter that surrounds the receivedorigin and destination locations may include identifying an ellipticalperimeter.

Implementations of the above general aspect may also include determiningwhether each of the first and second points of interest include at leastone location within the perimeter and expanding parameters of theperimeter if it is determined that at least one of the first or secondpoint of interest does not include the at least one location within theperimeter. Identifying the perimeter that surrounds the received originand destination locations may include identifying an ellipticalperimeter.

Selecting the single first potential location corresponding to thereceived first point of interest and the single second potentiallocation corresponding to the received second point of interest mayfurther include identifying a preliminary route as an starting solutionthat includes one first location associated with the first point ofinterest and one second location associated with the second point ofinterest, wherein the first and second locations are selected from thefirst and second sets of potential locations, identifying a travelcommitment for the preliminary route, storing the preliminary route as apreferred route, altering the preferred route to identify a new route,identifying a travel commitment associated with the new route, comparingthe travel commitment associated with the new route with the travelcommitment associated with the preferred route, and if the travelcommitment associated with the new route is less than the travelcommitment associated with preferred route, storing the new route as thepreferred route. The travel commitment may include travel time or atravel distance.

Altering the preferred route to identify the new route may includerearranging the order in which the locations associated with the firstand second points of interest are visited in the preferred route.Alternatively or additionally, altering the preferred route to identifythe new route may include selecting a new location associated with atleast one of the first or second point of interest, and including thenewly selected location and at least one location that appears in thepreferred route within the new route. Including the newly selectedlocation within the new route may include displacing one of thelocations associated with either the first or second point of interestwithin the preferred route with the newly selected location. The newlocation may supplement the locations associated with the first andsecond points of interest within the preferred route. Selecting the newlocation may include selecting the new location from the first or thesecond set of potential locations.

The method may also include determining whether a time limitation hasbeen reached and displaying the preferred route to the user if it isdetermined that the time limitation has been reached. The timelimitation may begin to expire from a time the process of selecting thesingle first potential location corresponding to the received firstpoint of interest and the single second potential location correspondingto the received second point of interest begins and the time limitationmay expire at a pre-defined expiration time; thus, enabling the user toidentify the advanced route within a reasonable time frame. Thepre-defined expiration time may be defined by the user or a host. Themethod also may include displaying the new route to the user if it isdetermined that the travel commitment of the new route is less than thethreshold.

Selecting the single first potential location corresponding to thereceived first point of interest and the single second potentiallocation corresponding to the received second point of interest mayfurther include identifying co-located locations associated with thefirst and second points of interest within the first and second sets ofpotential locations, identifying a route associated with each of theco-located locations, the route configured to travel through theco-located locations, identifying a travel commitment associated witheach identified route, and comparing the travel commitment of theidentified routes to identify an advanced route with a minimized travelcommitment. Identifying co-located locations may include searching,within the second set of potential locations, for a location thatappears close to each location appearing in the first set of potentiallocations, and as a result of the search, identifying one or moreco-located locations associated with the first and second points ofinterest. The co-located locations may include location that appearwithin a pre-defined time or distance from each other. The travelcommitment may include travel time or a travel distance.

Receiving the query may include receiving multiple keywords eachidentifying one of the origin location, the destination location, and atleast the first point of interest and the second points of interest.Receiving the multiple keywords may include receiving the multiplekeywords concurrently. Alternatively or additionally, receiving themultiple keywords may include receiving each one of the multiplekeywords at a different time.

The origin location, the destination location, and the at least firstpoint and the second point of interest forming the query may each bereceived from a different source.

According to another general aspect, a computer-implemented method foridentifying a route that is configured to travel through multiple pointsof interest includes receiving a query that includes an origin location,a destination location, and at least a first point of interest and asecond point of interest and determining a preliminary route from theorigin location to the destination location. The method also includesidentifying a first set of potential destinations that corresponds tothe received first point of interest and that represents less than allpotential destinations corresponding to the first point of interest, thepotential destinations within the first set being identified based on arelatedness of the potential destinations to the first point of interestand also based on a geographic proximity of the potential destinationsto the determined preliminary route. The method also includesidentifying a second set of potential destinations that corresponds tothe received second point of interest and that represents less than allpotential destinations corresponding to the second point of interest,the potential destinations within the second set being identified basedon a relatedness of the potential destinations to the second point ofinterest and also based on a geographic proximity of the potentialdestinations to the determined preliminary route. The method alsoincludes selecting, among the first and second sets of potentialdestinations identified, respectively, a single first potentialdestination corresponding to the received first point of interest and asingle second potential destination corresponding to the received secondpoint of interest. The method also includes displaying, as an advancedroute, a route from the origin location to the destination locationthrough the selected single first potential destination corresponding tothe received first point of interest and the selected single secondpotential destination corresponding to the received second point ofinterest.

Implementations of the above general aspect may include one or more ofthe following features. For example, identifying the first and thesecond sets of potential destinations based on the geographic proximityof the potential destinations to the preliminary route may includeidentifying the first and the second sets of potential destinationsbased on distance along roads from the preliminary route to thepotential destinations. Alternatively or additionally, identifying thefirst and the second sets of potential destinations based on thegeographic proximity of the potential destinations to the preliminaryroute may include identifying the first and the second sets of potentialdestinations based on estimated time of travel from the preliminaryroute to the potential destinations. Identifying the first set ofpotential destinations may include identifying the first set ofpotential destinations representing at least multiple locations for thereceived first point of interest.

Selecting the single first and second potential locations may furtherinclude identifying a preliminary route as an starting solution thatincludes one first potential destination associated with the first pointof interest and one second potential destination associated with thesecond point of interest, wherein the first and second potentialdestinations are selected from the first and second sets of potentialdestinations, identifying a travel commitment associated with thepreliminary route, storing the preliminary route as a preferred route,altering the preferred route to identify a new route, comparing thetravel commitment associated with the new route with the travelcommitment associated with the preliminary route, and if the travelcommitment associated with the new route is less than the travelcommitment associated with the preferred route, storing the new route asthe preferred route. The travel commitment may include travel time or atravel distance.

Altering the preferred route to identify the new route may includerearranging the order in which the destinations associated with thefirst and second points of interest are visited in the preferred route.Alternatively or additionally, altering the preferred route to identifythe new route may include selecting a new destination associated with atleast one of the first or second point of interest, and including thenewly selected destination and at least one destination that appears inthe preferred route within the new route. Including the newly selecteddestination within the new route may include displacing one of thedestinations associated with either the first or second point ofinterest within the preferred route with the newly selected destination.The new destination may supplement the destinations associated with thefirst and second points of interest within the preferred route. Themethod also may include identifying a perimeter around the preliminaryroute and using the identified perimeter as a basis for identifying thefirst and second sets of potential destinations. Identifying theperimeter may include identifying a perimeter that has an ellipticalshape. The method also may include determining that at least one of thefirst and second points of interest does not include a location withinthe first perimeter, identifying a second perimeter formed around andoutside of the first perimeter, and identifying a set of locations forthe at least one of the first and second points of interest that iswithin the second perimeter.

According to another general aspect, a computer-implemented method foridentifying a route that is configured to travel through multiple pointsof interest includes receiving a query that includes an origin location,a destination location, and at least a first point of interest and asecond point of interest and identifying a first location associatedwith the first point of interest and a second location associated withthe second point of interest. The method also includes displaying, as afirst advanced route, a route from the origin location to thedestination location that travels through the identified first locationassociated with the first point of interest and the identified secondlocation associated with the second point of interest. The method alsoincludes identifying a different first location associated with thefirst point of interest and a different second location associated withthe second point of interest and displaying, as a second advanced route,a route from the origin location to the destination location thattravels through the identified different first location associated withthe first point of interest and the identified different second locationassociated with the second point of interest. The method also includesenabling a user to select from among the first and second identifiedadvanced routes.

Implementations of the above general aspect may include one or more ofthe following features. For example, the first advanced route and thesecond advanced route may be displayed concurrently.

For another example, identifying the first location and the secondlocation may further include determining a preliminary route from theorigin location to the destination location, identifying a first set ofpotential locations that corresponds to the received first point ofinterest and that represents less than all potential locationscorresponding to the first point of interest, the potential locationswithin the first set being identified based on a relatedness of thepotential locations to the first point of interest and also based on ageographic proximity of the potential locations to the determinedpreliminary route, identifying a second set of potential locations thatcorresponds to the received second point of interest and that representsless than all potential locations corresponding to the second point ofinterest, the potential locations within the second set being identifiedbased on a relatedness of the potential locations to the second point ofinterest and also based on a geographic proximity of the potentiallocations to the determined preliminary route, and, among the first andsecond sets of potential destinations identified, respectively,selecting the first location and the second location.

Identifying the first different location and the second differentlocation may further include selecting from among the first and secondsets of potential destinations identified, respectively the firstdifferent location and the second different location. Locationsassociated with the first and second points of interest may includegeographic locations or addresses. Alternatively or additionally,locations associated with the first and second points of interest mayinclude facility names of the first and second points of interest. Thefirst and second points of interest may include first and secondestablishments, respectively, wherein the first and second establishmenteach may include one or more locations associated therewith.Alternatively or additionally, the first and second points of interestmay include first and second facility names, respectively. Alternativelyor additionally, the first and second points of interest may includefirst and second desired objects, respectively, in which the user isinterested. Alternatively or additionally, the first and second desiredobjects may include objects associated with a particular activity.

The first and second establishments may each be associated with aparticular location. The particular location may include a geographicallocation. The particular location associated with the firstestablishment may include a particular geographical location and theparticular location associated with the second establishment includes aparticular facility name.

The method also may include identifying that the first advanced route isselected by the user, and in response to the user selecting the firstadvanced route, providing the user with point-to-point directions/mapsfor the first advanced route. The point-to-point directions/maps maybegin at the origin location, pass through the first and secondlocations associated with the first and second points of interest,respectively, and end at the destination location. The origin locationand the destination location may each include a geographical location.The origin location may include a geographical location and thedestination location may include a facility name.

Implementations of the described techniques may include hardware, amethod or process, or computer software on a computer-accessible medium.

The details of one or more implementations are set forth in theaccompanying drawings and the description below. Other features will beapparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a flow chart of an exemplary process a host may useto identify an advanced route between an origin location and adestination location, such that the advanced route includes a locationfor each of user-identified multiple points of interest.

FIG. 2A illustrates an exemplary user interface provided to a user of aclient device wishing to visit multiple points of interest along a routefrom an origin location to a destination location.

FIG. 2B illustrates an exemplary user interface for entering informationabout a particular stop.

FIG. 3 illustrates a map that is used to identify a set of locationscorresponding to each of user-identified multiple points of interest.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart of an exemplary process a host may useto identify the elliptical perimeter around the preliminary routeillustrated by FIG. 3.

FIG. 5A illustrates an exemplary table that a host may use to identifyan advanced route having a minimized travel commitment.

FIG. 5B illustrates an exemplary table in which the host rearranges thelocations included in the advanced route identified in FIG. 5A to reducethe travel commitment associated with the advanced route.

FIGS. 6A-6B illustrate an exemplary process and an exemplary table ahost may use to identify the most efficient route associated withselected locations for multiple points of interest.

FIGS. 7A-7B illustrate an exemplary process and an exemplary table ahost may use to identify an advanced route having the “least” travelcommitment.

FIG. 8A illustrates an exemplary process a host may use to enable a userto identify an advanced route based on user-selected locations for themultiple points of interest.

FIG. 8B illustrates an exemplary process a host may use for applyingmore weight to user-selected locations for the multiple points ofinterest.

FIGS. 9A-9B illustrate exemplary user interfaces each displayingmultiple routes responsive to a search query, and thus enabling the userto select from among the displayed multiple routes.

FIG. 10 illustrates another exemplary process that a host uses toidentify an advanced route between an origin location and a destinationlocation.

FIG. 11 illustrates an elliptical perimeter that a host uses to searchfor potential locations for each of user-defined multiple points ofinterest.

FIG. 12 illustrates a process the host uses to identify the ellipticalperimeter illustrated in FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary process a host uses to select a singlelocation for each of user-identified multiple points of interest.

FIG. 14 illustrates a communication system, enabling a host to solicitfrom a client device a search query and to generate a response to thesearch query.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A user of a client device may wish to travel from an origin location toa destination location, and the user may wish to visit multiple pointsof interest along the way. For example, the user may wish to visit aconvenient automated teller machine (“ATM”), a grocery store, a gasstation, and a dry cleaner along a commuting route or a planned vacationroute. As such, the user may benefit from an advanced route thatincludes and thus encourages travel through a convenient location foreach of the user-identified multiple points of interest. Accordingly,techniques are provided for generating such an advanced route thatincludes a location for each of the user-identified multiple points ofinterest. In one implementation, the techniques described in thisapplication enable a host to generate the advanced route withoutexcessive computational delay.

An exemplary process 100 of FIG. 1 may be used by a host to identify anadvanced route between an origin location and a destination location,such that the advanced route includes and thus encourages travel througha location for each of user-identified multiple points of interest.Below, process 100 is described with brief reference to otherillustrative figures, each of which are later described separately.Process 100 begins by providing a client device with access to the host(110). Providing the client device access to the host may includeproviding the client device with a user interface, such as that of FIGS.2A and 2B, for submitting a search query to the host.

The host receives the search query, including an origin location, adestination location, and an indication of multiple points of interest(120). The multiple points of interest may include intermediaryservices, such as banking services, dry cleaning services, flower shopservices, grocery store services, and/or gas stations services. The hostmay receive the search query via, for example, a request and/or messagefrom the client device.

In response to the search query, the host identifies a preliminary routebetween the origin location and the destination location (130). FIG. 3illustrates a preliminary route 310 the host may identify between theorigin location and the destination location. The host identifies aperimeter around the preliminary route (140). The host may use anexemplary process 400 described with respect to FIG. 4 to identify theperimeter around the preliminary route. As shown in FIG. 3, theperimeter 320 includes an elliptical shape and is formed around thepreliminary route 310. The host identifies, within the ellipticalperimeter, a set of locations corresponding to each of the receivedmultiple points of interest (150). The set of locations may include aset of geographic locations or addresses. Alternatively or additionally,the set of locations may include a set of zip codes, street addressesand/or facility names.

In one example and as shown in FIG. 3, where the multiple points ofinterest include a gas station, a grocery store, and a restaurant, thehost identifies a set of locations within the elliptical route 320 thatcorrespond to the gas station, a set of locations corresponding to thegrocery store, and a set of locations corresponding to the restaurant.The host selects, from the set of locations identified, a locationcorresponding to each of the user-identified multiple points of interestfor which the set of locations was identified (160). In keeping with theexample of FIG. 3, the host selects, from the set of locationsidentified, a location for the gas station, a location for the grocerystore, and a location for the restaurant, for example, using tables andprocesses described with respect to FIGS. 5A-5B and 6A-6B. Based on thisselection, the host identifies an advanced route between the originlocation and the destination location, where the advanced route includesand thus encourages travel through the selected location for each of theuser-identified multiple points of interest (170). Again keeping withthe example of FIG. 3, process 100 thus resolves an advanced route thatincludes a location for the gas station, the grocery store, and therestaurant.

More specifically, FIG. 2A illustrates an exemplary user interface(“UI”) 200A provided to a user of a client device, wishing to visitmultiple points of interest along a route from an origin location to adestination location. The UI 200A may be displayed, for example, on anin-vehicle navigation system, a mobile device, such as a cellular phoneor PDA, or other devices, such as a personal computer.

The UI 200A includes an origin selection portion 210, a destinationselection portion 220, a points of interest selection portion 230, anidentify stops portion 240, and a directions/maps selection portion 250.The origin selection portion 210 enables the host to solicit orotherwise receive an origin or a starting location. The origin selectionportion 210 includes fields enabling specification of an address or anintersection, a city, a state, and a zip code. The destination selectionportion 220 enables the host to solicit or otherwise receive adestination location. The destination selection portion 220 includesfields enabling specification of a destination name, an address or anintersection, a city, a state, and a zip code.

The UI 200A also includes the points of interest selection portion 230.The points of interest selection portion 230 enables the host to solicitor otherwise receive multiple points of interest that the user wishes tovisit along a route between the origin location and the destinationlocation. The points of interest selection portion 230 includes a userselectable option for identifying each of the multiple points ofinterest. The multiple points of interest may include banking services,restaurant services, flower shop services, and/or “other” services orplaces, such as gas stations, shopping centers, and/or grocery stores.In one implementation, shown in FIG. 2A, the user may communicate to thehost a desired point of interest by selecting a box corresponding tothat point of interest.

A representation of a point of interest in UI 200A may be interactive.For example, the user may interact with the point of interest byselecting the point of interest in the UI 200A (e.g., double clicking onthe point of interest using, for example, a mouse). Selecting the pointof interest may launch another UI, enabling the user to provideadditional information regarding the point of interest to the host. Forinstance, selecting “banking services” may launch another UI, enablingthe user to identify the type of banking services in which the user isinterested (e.g., a type of branch and/or ATM services).

The UI 200A also includes the identify stops portion 240. The identifystops portion 240 enables the host to solicit or otherwise identifyparticular stops along the route. When the user selects the identifystops portion 240, a UI for entering information about a particular stop(e.g., UI 240 of FIG. 2B) is displayed. For example, the identify stopsportion 240 may enable the user to identify an address of the particularstops. Alternatively or additionally, the identify stops portion 240 mayenable the user to specify a name of a particular stop and/orgeographical area in which particular stop is located. For example, theidentify stops portion 240 may enable the user to specify a favoritebanking service in a particular area (e.g. Bank of America in the NWquadrant of Washington DC). Similarly, the identify stops portion 240may enable the user to specify a name of a particular restaurant inwhich the user is interested.

FIG. 2B illustrates an exemplary UI 240 for entering information about aparticular stop. The UI 240 includes a first stop selection portion 240Aand “other” stops selection portion 240B. The first stop selectionportion 240A includes fields enabling specification of a destinationname, an address or an intersection, a city, a state, a zip code, and acategory name. The category name field indicates the category or type ofstop, such as gas, cash, or restaurant. The “other” stops selectionportion 240B enables the user to provide additional particular stops tothe host.

Referring again to FIG. 2A, the UI 200A also includes thedirections/maps selection portion 250. The directions/maps selectionportion 250 enables the user to receive directions/maps between theorigin location and the destination location through the locationassociated with the user-identified multiple points of interest.

FIG. 3 illustrates a map 300 that is used to identify a set of locationscorresponding to each of the user-identified multiple points ofinterest. The map 300 includes an origin location, a destinationlocation, and a preliminary route 310 between the origin location andthe destination location. The map 300 also includes a perimeter 320 thathas an elliptical shape and that is formed around the preliminary route310. The elliptical perimeter 320 is used to identify a set of locationscorresponding to each of the received multiple points of interest. Usingthe elliptical perimeter 320 to identify a set of locationscorresponding to each of the multiple points of interest may increasethe efficiency in identifying an advanced route traveling through theuser-identified multiple points of interest.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart of an exemplary process 400 a host mayuse to identify or otherwise calculate the elliptical perimeter 320around the preliminary route 310 illustrated by FIG. 3. The process 400illustrates in more detail the blocks 130, 140, and 150 associated withthe process 100 described above with respect to FIG. 1. Initially, thehost identifies the preliminary route 310 between the origin locationand the destination location (410). The host may identify thepreliminary route 310 by referencing an internal server, which in turnreferences roads, coupling the origin location to the destinationlocation. Alternatively, the host may identify the preliminary route 310by referencing an external server, such as a web map server (e.g.,Mapquest™) that employs one or more geocoding servers, mapping servers,and/or routing servers to generate the preliminary route 310. Uponidentification of the preliminary route 310, the host may identifylocations (e.g., latitude/longitude coordinates) that are at a certaindistance “d” from points along the preliminary route 310 (or maptiles/sectors corresponding thereto) (420). In one implementation, thehost selects the distance “d.” In another implementation, the userselects the distance “d.” Once the locations at the distance “d” alongthe preliminary route 310 are identified, the host connects theselocations (as presented by broken lines in FIG. 3) to form a firstperimeter 320 around the preliminary route 310, which may include anelliptical shape as shown in FIG. 3 (430).

The host uses the elliptical perimeter 320 to identify a subset fromamong the universe of locations otherwise corresponding to each of theuser-identified multiple points of interest. The host first determineswhether the elliptical perimeter 320 includes at least one location foreach of the user-identified multiple points of interest (440). If so(e.g., all of the user-identified multiple points of interest arerepresented within the elliptical perimeter 320, the host identifies,within the elliptical perimeter 320), a set of locations for each of theuser-identified multiple points of interest (460). For example andreferring again to FIG. 3, when the search query includes identifying agas station, a grocery store, and a restaurant along the route, the hostmay identify within the elliptical perimeter 320 a set of locations forthe gas station, a set of locations for the grocery store, and a set oflocations for the restaurant. As shown in FIG. 3, the set of locationsfor the gas station includes three different locations for a “Brand” gasstation; the set of locations for the restaurant includes threedifferent locations for McDonald's™; and the set of locations for thegrocery store includes three different locations for Safeway™.

If the host fails to identify, within the elliptical perimeter 320, alocation associated with at least one of the multiple points ofinterest, the host calculates a second perimeter (450). The secondperimeter may include an elliptical shape and may be calculated in thesame manner as the elliptical perimeter 320, however, the secondperimeter may include a larger distance “d” from the points along thepreliminary route 310. As such, the second perimeter may be larger thanthe elliptical perimeter 320 and may surround the elliptical perimeter320. Upon calculating the second perimeter, the host again determineswhether all the user-identified multiple points of interest arerepresented within the second perimeter (440). If so, the hostidentifies, within the second perimeter, a set of locations for the atleast one of the multiple points of interest (460).

The host selects, from each set of locations identified, a locationcorresponding to each of the multiple points of interest for which theset of locations was identified. The host uses the selected locations toidentify an advanced route that includes and thus encourage travelthrough the selected location for the multiple points of interest. Inone example and as described below with respect to FIGS. 5A-5B, the hostidentifies multiple advanced routes by selecting, from each set oflocations, multiple locations corresponding to each of the multiplepoints of interest. The host calculates the travel commitment thatincludes travel time and/or travel distance for each of the multipleadvanced routes and selects the advance route for which the travelcommitment is minimized.

FIG. 5A illustrates an exemplary table 500A that a host may use toidentify an advanced route having a minimized travel commitment. Table500A includes type of interest column 510, closest choices column 520,next closest choices column 530, and next closest choices column 540.The type of interest column 510 identifies the type of interest, whichincludes categories for a gas station, a restaurant, and a grocerystore. The closest choices column 520, the next closest choices column530, and the next closest choices column 540 each represent differentadvanced routes that include a location corresponding to each of themultiple points of interest. The location includes an address and atravel distance of the type of interest from the preliminary route 310.

Table 500A also includes a travel time row 550 and a travel distance row560. The travel time row 550 identifies the travel time for the advancedroute in the closest choices column 520, the next closest choices column530, and the next closest choices column 540. The travel distance row560 identifies the travel distance for the advanced route in the closestchoices column 520, the next closest choices column 530, and the nextclosest choices column 540. The host may be configured to use the traveltime row 550 and/or the travel distance row 560 to identify an advancedroute having the minimized travel commitment. As shown in FIG. 5A, theadvanced route having the minimized travel commitment appears in theclosest choices column 520.

In one implementation, the closest choices column 520, the next closestchoices column 530, and the next closest choices column 540 mayrepresent a set of locations. For example, the closest choices column520 may represent a first set of locations. The next closest choicescolumn 530 may represent a second set of locations. And, the nextclosest choices column 530 may represent a third set of locations. Eachset of locations includes at least one location for each of the types ofinterest. The host may rearrange the order in which the locations withineach set of locations are visited to determine whether the travelcommitment can be further reduced. FIG. 5B illustrates an exemplarytable 500B, representing the host rearrangement of the locations withinthe first set, the second set, and the third set of locations. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 5B, the host rearranges the locations withinthe first set such that the McDonald's™ at 555 Tuckerman Lane, Potomac,Md. is visited first, the bp™ gas station at 1210 Seven Lock Rd.,Potomac, Md. is visited second, and the Safeway™ at 1213 Seven Lock Rd.,Potomac, Md. is visited third. The host may continue this process foreach set of location or a selected set of locations to identity the mostefficient route within each set of locations or the selected set oflocations in table 500A. In either case, as the host rearranges thelocations within the set of locations, the travel time and the traveldistance associated with the advanced route including the rearrangedlocations may change. For example, as shown in FIG. 5B, the travel timeand the travel distance associated with the advanced routes identifiedin table 500B is less than the travel time and the travel distanceassociated with the advanced routes identified in table 500A.

Below, FIGS. 6A-6B illustrate an exemplary process 600A and an exemplarytable 600B that a host uses to identify the most efficient route for aselected set of locations in table 500A, and FIGS. 7A-7B illustrate anexemplary process 700A and an exemplary table 700B that a host may useto identify the most efficient route within each set of locationsidentified in table 500A.

FIG. 6A illustrates an exemplary process 600A a host may use to identifythe most efficient route within a selected set of locations. The process600A illustrates in more detail the blocks 160 and 170 associated withthe process 100 described above with respect to FIG. 1. Initially, thehost selects a set of locations that includes at least one location foreach of the multiple points of interest (610). For example, the host mayselect the first set of locations (e.g., the closest choices column 520of FIG. 5A) resulting in the minimized travel commitment. The hostrearranges the order of the locations within the selected set oflocations to identify alternative routes traveling through thoselocations (620). The host calculates a travel time and/or a traveldistance for each of the identified alternative routes (630) andidentifies a route having a minimum travel time and/or travel distanceamong the identified alternative routes (640). To identify a routehaving the minimum travel time and/or travel distance, the host may usean exemplary table 600B, shown in FIG. 6B. In table 600B, the hostidentifies the alternative routes within the selected set of locations(e.g., the closes choices column 520 of FIG. 5A) and also identifies thetravel time and the travel distance corresponding to each of thealternative routes.

As shown in FIG. 6B, the host rearranges the order in which locationswithin the first set (e.g., the closest choices column 520 of FIG. 5A)are visited and identifies three alternative routes in addition to theroute shown in the closest choices column 520. The three alternativeroutes include a first route 660, a second route 670, and a third route680. Each of the alternative routes 660, 670, and 680 include adifferent order in which the location for the each of the multiplepoints of interest is visited. For example, in the first route 660, thelocation for the restaurant is visited first, the location for the gasstation is visited second, and the location for the grocery store isvisited third. Similarly, in the second route 670, the location for therestaurant is visited first, the location for the grocery store isvisited second, and the location for the gas station is visited third.

Table 600B also includes a travel time row 690A and a travel distancerow 690B. The travel time row 690A includes a travel time for each ofthe alternative routes. The travel distance row 690B includes a traveldistance for each of the alternative routes. The host compares thetravel time and/or the travel distance for each of the four alternativeroutes (e.g., a route identified in closest choices column 520 of FIG.5A and the three routes identified in table 600B) to identify the routewith minimum travel time and/or the travel distance. As shown, the routewith the minimum travel time and/or distance includes the first route660 with a travel time of 44 minutes and a travel distance of 24.8miles. Once the host identifies the route having the minimum travel timeand/or travel distance among the alternative routes (640), the hostpresents the route to the user as the most efficient route within theselected set of locations (650).

FIGS. 7A-7B illustrate an exemplary process 700A and an exemplary table700B that a host may use to identify the advanced route having the“lowest” travel time and/or the travel distance. Referring specificallyto FIG. 7A, the process 700A illustrates in more detail the blocks 160and 170 associated with the process 100 described above with respect toFIG. 1. The process 700A begins by the host rearranging, within each setof locations identified in table 500A (e.g., the closest choices column520 and the next closest choices columns 530 and 540), the order oflocations to identify alternative routes traveling through thoselocations (710). The host calculates, within each set of locationsidentified in table 500A, a travel time and/or a travel distance foreach identified alternative routes (720), and identifies, within eachset of locations, a most efficient route having the minimum travel timeand/or travel distance among the alternative routes (730). The host mayuse the operation described above with respect to FIG. 6A to identifythe most efficient route within each set of locations identified intable 500A. The host compares the travel time and/or the travel distanceassociated with the most efficient routes identified to each other(740). To perform this comparison, the host may use the exemplary table700B that includes the travel time and the travel distance for the mostefficient route within each set of locations. Table 700B includes atravel time row 740 and a distance row 750. The travel time row 740identifies the travel time for the most efficient route within each setof locations. For example, the travel time for the most efficient routewithin the first set of locations is 44 minutes, within the second setof locations is 43 minutes, and within the third set of locations is 55minutes.

The distance row 750 identifies the travel distance for the mostefficient route within each set of locations. For example, the traveldistance for the most efficient route within the first set of locationsis 24.8 miles, within the second set of locations is 25 miles, andwithin the third set of locations is 30 miles. The host may use table700B to identify and select the most efficient route with the “lowest”travel commitment, as the advanced route (750).

In one scenario, shown in FIG. 7B, one of the routes may have theshortest travel time and another route may have the shortest traveldistance. For example, the most efficient route within the first set hasthe shortest travel distance and the most efficient route within thesecond set has the shortest travel time. In this scenario, the host maybe configured to use the route with the shortest travel time as theadvanced route. Alternatively, the host may be configured to use theroute with the shortest travel distance as the advanced route.

FIG. 8A illustrates an exemplary process 800A the host uses to enablethe user to identify an advanced route based on the user-selectedlocations for the multiple points of interest. Initially, the hostpresents to the user a set of locations corresponding to each of themultiple points of interest (810). In one implementation and referringagain to FIG. 5A, the host may present to the user table 500A as a UI,enabling the user to select, from the set of locations, a locationcorresponding to each of the multiple points of interest (820). The usermay select a location for each of the multiple points of interest by“clicking on,” for example, the locations appearing in the closestchoices column 520, the next closest choices column 530, and/or the nextclosest choices column 540. For example, the user may select a locationfor a gas station from the closest choices column 520 by selecting the“1210 Seven Lock Rd. Potomac, Md.” icon. And, the user may select alocation for the restaurant from the next closest choices column 530 byselecting the “555 Tuckerman Lane, Potomac, Md.” icon. Similarly, theuser may select a location for the grocery store from the closestchoices column 520 by selecting “1213 Seven Lock Rd, Potomac, Md.” icon.In response, the host identifies an advanced route based on theuser-selected locations (830). The host may optionally present theadvanced route to the user (840). The host also may present to the useralternatives to the user's selected route, enabling the user to comparethe travel commitment of the selected route with the travel commitmentof the other routes and to make an informed decision about which routethe user wishes to travel. The alternatives may include substitutedpoints of interest and/or it may rearrange an order of travel amongpoints of interest.

Alternatively and prior to presenting the user-identified advanced routeto the user (840), the host may perform a preliminary analysis on theuser-identified advanced route. For example, the host may give theuser-identified advanced route more weight than other alternative routespresented in the UI 500A, and the host may select the user-identifiedadvanced route if its travel commitment is less than a threshold value.FIG. 8B illustrates an exemplary process 800B that a host uses forapplying more weight to the user-identified advanced route and selectingthe user-identified advanced route if its travel commitment is less thana threshold value. Initially, the host calculates a travel commitmentfor the advanced route (850). The host reduces the travel commitment bya certain value to identify a new travel commitment for the advancedroute (860). The host determines whether the new travel commitment isless than the threshold value (870). If so, then the host presents theadvanced route to the user (880). Otherwise, the host determines whetherone of the alternative routes presented in the UI 500A has a travelcommitment less than the travel commitment of the user-identifiedadvanced route (890). If so, then the host presents the alternativeroute to the user (892). If not, then the host presents theuser-selected route to the user (894).

FIG. 9A illustrates an exemplary UI 900A that displays multiple routesresponsive to a search query, and that enables the user to select fromamong the displayed multiple routes. The UI 900A represents a messagethat may be presented to the user who is traveling from “1425 K St. NW,Washington, D.C. 20005” toward the “United States Patent and TrademarkOffice” (“USPTO”), and who seeks a route that enables the user to stopby “a gas station” and “a grocery store.”

As shown in FIG. 9A and described above, the UI 900A notes the originlocation, the destination location, and the multiple points of interestthe user has previously specified via, for example, the UI 200A. The UI900A communicates to the user multiple routes that are responsive to thesearch query. The multiple routes may include, for example, a Route Aand a Route B. Route A has total travel time of 45 minutes and begins atthe origin location and travels first through the grocery store locationand then the gas station location before reaching the destination of theUSPTO.

In contrast to Route A, Route B has total travel time of 60 minutes andbegins at the origin location and travels first through the gas stationlocation and then the grocery store location before reaching thedestination of the USPTO. As shown, the locations associated with thegas station and the grocery store appearing in Route B are differentfrom the locations associated with the gas station and the grocery storeappearing in Route A. The user may select either Route A or Route B byselecting the box corresponding to Route A or Route B. Upon choosingRoute A or Route B, the host may provide point-to-point directions/mapsto the user for Route A or Route B, accordingly. In a differentimplementation, the user selects both Route A and Route B to, forexample, view a more detailed map associated with each before selectingeither Route A or Route B. In such a scenario, the host generatesanother UI, such as, for example, the UI 900B illustrated by FIG. 9B tographically illustrate the two competing routes to the user. The UI 900Bincludes a graphical representation of Route A and Route B. As shown,Route A passes through different locations associated with the gasstation and the grocery store than Route B and appears to have lesstravel time and/or travel distance associated with it. Upon viewing thegraphical representation of the two competing routes, the user may beable to easily make a decision regarding which route to take and uponmaking such determination, the user may return to UI 900 to make theuser's selection.

In a slightly different scenario, the UI 900B may be configured to beinteractive and the user may select the desired route by clicking on thegraphical representation of Route A or Route B. Similarly and referringagain to FIG. 9A, the UI 900A also may be configured to be interactive.For example, the UI 900A may enable the user to change the originlocation, the destination location, and the multiple points of interestpreviously specified by the user. The user may select the addressassociated with those locations to change and/or modify them. Similarly,if the user wishes to visit a point of interest at a specific location,the user may modify the host-suggested location for the point ofinterest by changing the address for that point of interest.

In another implementation, unlike the process 100 shown in FIG. 1, thehost identifies an advanced route traveling through each of theidentified points of interest without identifying a preliminary route(130) and without identifying a perimeter around the preliminary route(140). Instead, the host identifies a perimeter around the originlocation and the destination location. In particular, after receivingthe origin location and the destination location from the client device,the host identifies a perimeter that surrounds the origin location andthe destination location, and within the perimeter, the host identifiesa set of locations associated with each of the points of interests. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 11 and further described below, in oneimplementation, the host identifies a perimeter having an ellipticalshape surrounding the origin location and the destination location andidentifies, within the elliptical perimeter, a set of locations for eachof the points of interest. A point of interest may refer to anestablishment that includes multiple locations associated therewith. Forexample, the point of interest may refer to any gas station and/or abrand gas station at different locations.

One example will be described to illustrate how the host may identify anadvanced route traveling through a location associated each of themultiple points of interest without necessarily computing a preliminaryroute and forming the elliptical perimeter around the preliminary route.In this example, the user seeks to visit multiple points of interest ona route between an origin location and a destination location. Themultiple points of interest include a gas station and a grocery store.The host identifies an elliptical perimeter around the origin locationand the destination location, and within the elliptical perimeter, thehost identifies a set of locations for the gas station and a set oflocations for the grocery store. Before identifying the advanced route,the host identifies a preliminary route as a starting solution. Thepreliminary route begins at the origin location and is configured topass through the first location appearing in each set before reachingthe destination location. The host determines a travel commitment (e.g.,travel time and/or a travel distance) for the preliminary route. Then,the host identifies another route by altering the order in which thepreviously selected locations for each of the multiple points ofinterest are visited. Additionally or alternatively, the host identifiesanother route by choosing from each set a different location for some orall of the multiple points of interest. The host determines the travelcommitment for the new route and compares the travel commitment of thenew route to the travel commitment of the preliminary route. Ifimprovement in the travel commitment has occurred (e.g., the travel timeand/or the travel distance is further minimized), the host uses the newroute as the preferred route. If the improvement in the travelcommitment has not occurred (e.g., the travel time and/or the traveldistance is not further minimized), the host uses the preliminary routeas the preferred route.

The host continues these operations for a specified number of timesuntil all locations within each set have been considered, a timelimitation has been reached, or a relative improvement in each iterationis marginal. Using the time limitation may enable the host to identifyan advanced route in a timely manner.

An exemplary process 1000 illustrated by FIG. 10, may be used by thehost to identify an advanced route based on the above-described example.Below, process 1000 is described with brief reference to other processesillustrated by figures, each of which is later described separately.Process 1000 begins with receiving a query that includes an originlocation, a destination location, and at least a first point of interestand a second point of interest (1010). The first and/or second points ofinterest may refer to an establishment that includes at least multiplelocations associated therewith. In keeping with the above-describedexample, the first point of interest includes a gas station and thesecond point of interest includes a grocery store for purposes of thisdescription. The host receives the query via, for example, a requestand/or message from the client device through UI 200 shown in FIG. 2A.

In response to receiving the query, the host identifies a perimeter thatsurrounds the received origin and destination locations (1020). As shownin FIG. 11, the perimeter may include an elliptical perimeter 1110surrounding the origin and destination locations. In anotherimplementation, the perimeter may include other patterns such as, forexample, square, rectangular, circular, and/or non-geometric patterns.The host may use an exemplary process 1200 described with respect toFIG. 12 to identify the elliptical perimeter 1110.

The host identifies, within the perimeter, a first set of potentiallocations that corresponds to the received first point of interest, thefirst set of potential locations representing a subset of all potentiallocations corresponding to the first point of interest (1030). The hostalso identifies, within the perimeter, a second set of potentiallocations that corresponds to the received second point of interest, thesecond set of potential locations representing a subset of all potentiallocations corresponding to the second point of interest (1040). The hostselects, from the first and the second sets of potential locations, asingle potential location corresponding to the received first point ofinterest and a single potential location corresponding to the receivedsecond point of interest (1050). In keeping with the above describedexample, the host selects, from each set, a location for the gas stationand the grocery store, using an exemplary process 1300 described withrespect to FIG. 13. The host then displays, as an advanced route, aroute from the origin location to the destination location that travelsthrough the selected single potential location corresponding to thereceived first point of interest and the selected single potentiallocation corresponding to the received second point of interest (1060).Again, keeping with the above-described example, the process 1000resolves an advanced route that includes a location for the gas stationand the grocery store.

A search area 1100, such as that illustrated by FIG. 11, includes anexemplary perimeter that the host may use to search for the potentiallocations for each of the received first and second points of interest.The search area 1100 includes an origin location, a destinationlocation, and an elliptical perimeter 1110. The elliptical perimeter1110 includes a major-axis and a minor-axis, and is rotated with respectto the longitudinal axis by a rotation angle θ. The rotation angle θ maybe found by a vector in latitude and longitude space from originlocation to the destination location.θ=tan⁻¹ (dlat/dlng)  (Equation 1)

The host may use an exemplary process 1200, such as that illustrated byFIG. 12, to identify the elliptical perimeter 1110. The exemplaryprocess 1200 connects the origin location and the destination locationvia a straight line and identifying the length “L” of the straight line(1210). The host then multiplies the length “L” by a factor “N” toidentify the length of the elliptical perimeter's 1110 major-axis(1220).L _(major-axis) =L*N  (Equation 2)

Where “N” includes a value greater than one to extend the ellipse beyondthe origin and destination locations. In one implementation, “N” has avalue 1.5. The host then equally extends each side of the straight lineto form the major-axis, as shown in FIG. 11. In another implementation,to form the major-axis, the host extends each side of the straight lineby a factor N (or by factors N₁ and N₂ that differ). In thisimplementation, the length of the elliptical perimeter's 1110 major-axismay be defined by equation 3.L _(major-axis) L+2N  (Equation 3)

In either case, the host multiplies the length of the major-axis by afactor “I” to identify the length of the elliptical perimeter'sminor-axis (1230).L _(Minor-axis) =L _(Major-axis) *I  (Equation 4)

Where “I” includes a value less than one to scale the major-axis'slength. In one implementation, “I” has a value 0.5. The host thenidentifies the middle point of the major-axis and draws a straight lineperpendicular to the major-axis through the middle point to identify theminor-axis having the length L_(minor-axis) (1240), as shown in FIG. 11.

In one implementation, the host may check to see whether all theidentified points of interest include at least one location within theelliptical perimeter 1110. If not, the host may expand the ellipticalperimeter by increasing the length of the major-axis and/or minor-axis.To keep with the above described example, the host may continue thisoperation until the host identifies, within the elliptical perimeter1110, at least one location for the gas station and one location for thegrocery store.

An exemplary process 1300, such as that illustrated by FIG. 13, includesselecting a single location for each of the received first and secondpoints of interest. Process 1300 begins with identifying a preliminaryroute as a starting solution that includes one location for the firstpoint of interest and one location for the second point of interest(1310). The host chooses the first location appearing in each set ofpotential locations to identify the preliminary route. Once the host hasidentified the starting solution, the host calculates a travelcommitment (e.g., a travel time and/or travel distance) associated withthe preliminary route, and the host stores the preliminary route as thepreferred route (1320). Then, the host identifies another route byaltering the order in which the previously selected locations for eachof the multiple points of interest are visited (1330). Additionally oralternatively, the host identifies another route by choosing from eachset a different location for the first and/or second points of interest(1330). To determine the alternative routes, in one implementation, thehost uses a pseudo-random process to change the order in which thelocations associated with the first and second points of interest arevisited and/or to randomly select a new location from each set ofpotential locations. The host calculates the travel commitment (e.g.,travel time and/or travel distance) for the new route traveling throughthe rearranged locations and/or the newly identified locations (1340).The host compares the travel commitment of the new route to the travelcommitment of the preferred route (1350). If improvement has occurred(e.g., the travel commitment is further minimized), the host stores thenew route as the preferred route (1370), and the host moves on to checkwhether a time limitation has been reached (1380). If improvement hasnot occurred (1360, no), the host moves on to check whether a timelimitation has been reached (1380). If so (1380, yes), the host displaysthe preferred route to the user as the advanced route.

Depending on the number of potential locations within each set, aprocess of selecting a single location from each set may becomputationally demanding and may require lengthy computation time. Assuch, the use of the timer in operation block (1360) allows the user toidentify an optimal route and/or a route close to being optimal within areasonable time frame. The timer may begin to expire from the time theprocess starts and the user may set the length of expiration period. Inthis manner, an optimal route may be identified and presented to theuser in a reasonable time.

If the time limitation has not been reach (1380, no), the host moves onto the next operational block to determine whether the travel commitmentof the preferred route is less than a threshold (1390). The user and/orthe host may set a threshold to identify routes with an acceptabletravel commitment. In particular, if the preferred route has a travelcommitment below the threshold amount (1390, yes), then the host stopssearching for alternative routes and presents the preferred route to theuser (1395). If the preferred route has a travel commitment exceedingthe set threshold (1390, no), the host continues alternating thepreferred route by rearranging the order in which the identifiedlocations are visited and/or selecting a new location from the first orsecond set of potential locations (1330). The host continues theseoperations (e.g., 1330 to 1390) until a time limitation has been reachedor until the host identifies a preferred route with an acceptable travelcommitment.

In another implementation, the process 1300 may be modified to check fora relative improvement between consecutive alternative routes. Forexample, the host checks to determine whether relative improvement ofthe travel commitment between the last ten iterations is marginal. Ifso, the host stops the process 1300 and displays to the user thepreferred route. To do so, the host stores in a table the travelcommitment associated with each newly identified preferred route, andthe host references the table after the host has identified a certainnumber of preferred routes (e.g., ten). The host then compares thetravel commitment associated with the last identified preferred routewith the travel commitment associated with the previously identifiedpreferred route. If the improvement in the travel commitment ismarginal, the host stops the process 1300 and displays the lastidentified preferred route to the user. Otherwise, the host continuesthe process 1300.

FIG. 14 illustrates a communication system 1400 is capable of deliveringand exchanging data between a client device 1410 and a host 1430 througha delivery network 1420. The communication system 1400 enables the host1430 to solicit or otherwise receive from the client device 1410 asearch query and to generate a response to the search query.

Each of the client device 1410 and the host 1430 may be implemented by,for example, a general-purpose computer capable of responding to andexecuting instructions in a defined mariner, a personal computer, aspecial-purpose computer, a workstation, a server, a device, acomponent, other equipment or some combination thereof capable ofresponding to and executing instructions. The client device 1410 may beconfigured to receive instructions from, for example, a softwareapplication, a program, a piece of code, a device, a computer, acomputer system, or a combination thereof, which independently orcollectively direct operations, as described herein. The instructionsmay be embodied permanently or temporarily in any type of machine,component, equipment, storage medium, or propagated signal that iscapable of being delivered to the client device 1410 or the host 1430.

The client device 1410 may include one or more devices capable ofaccessing content on the host 1430. The client device 1410 may include ageneral-purpose computer (e.g., a personal computer (“PC”)) capable ofresponding to and executing instructions in a defined manner, aworkstation, a notebook computer, a Personal Digital Assistant (“PDA”),a wireless phone, a component, other equipment, or some combination ofthese items that is capable of responding to and executing instructions.

In one implementation, the client device 1410 includes one or moreinformation retrieval software applications (e.g., a browser, a mailapplication, an instant messaging client, an Internet service providerclient, a media player, a mobile location based services client, amobile mapping and/or navigation client, or AOL video or otherintegrated client) capable of receiving one or more data units. Theinformation retrieval applications run on a general-purpose operatingsystem and a hardware platform that includes a general-purpose processorand specialized hardware for graphics, communications and/or othercapabilities. In another implementation, the client device 1410 includesa wireless telephone running a micro-browser application on a reducedoperating system with general purpose and specialized hardware capableof operating in mobile environments.

In this implementation, the client device 1410 is configured to generatea search query that includes an origin location, a destination location,and an indication of multiple points of interest the user wishes tovisit between the origin location and the destination location. Theclient device 1410 also is configured to display a result responsive tothe search query. For example, the client device 1410 may be configuredto display an advanced route between the origin location and thedestination location that includes and thus encourages travel through alocation of each of the user-specified multiple points of interest. Theclient device 1410 also may display a map and information regardingtravel time and/or travel distance for the advanced route.

The network 1420 includes hardware and/or software capable of enablingdirect or indirect communications between the client device 1410 and thehost 1430. As such, the network 1420 includes a direct link between theclient device 1110 and the host 1130, or it includes one or morenetworks or subnetworks between them (not shown). Each network orsubnetwork includes, for example, a wired or wireless data pathwaycapable of carrying and receiving data. Examples of the delivery networkinclude the Internet, the World Wide Web, a WAN (“Wide Area Network”), aLAN (“Local Area Network”), analog or digital wired and wirelesstelephone networks, radio, television, cable, satellite, and/or anyother delivery mechanism for carrying data.

The host 1430 includes a general-purpose computer having a centralprocessor unit (CPU), and memory/storage devices that store data andvarious programs such as an operating system and one or more applicationprograms. Other examples of the host 1430 include a workstation, aserver, a special purpose device or component, a broadcast system, otherequipment, or some combination thereof capable of responding to andexecuting instructions in a defined manner.

The host 1430 includes a host operated by an Online Service Providerthat provides mapping services to subscribers. Alternatively oradditionally, the host 1430 includes a search provider and/or a mobiledevice, such as a cellular phone or an in-vehicle navigation system. Thehost 1430 is configured to receive a search query, including an originlocation, a destination location, and an indication of multiple pointsof interest. In response, the host 1430 identifies a result that isresponsive to the search query. To identify the result, the host 1430may first identify a perimeter around the origin location and thedestination location. The perimeter may include an elliptical shape. Thehost 1430 uses the perimeter to identify, within the perimeter, a set oflocations corresponding to each of the multiple points of interest. Thehost 1430 selects, from the set of locations identified, a locationcorresponding to each of the multiple points of interest for which theset of locations was identified. The host 1430 identifies an advancedroute between the origin location and the destination location thatincludes and thus encourage travel through a location for each of themultiple points of interest.

The host 1430 may be configured to provide mapping services to the userof the client device 1410. In one example, the host 1430 is configuredto generate maps and infoiination regarding travel time, and/or traveldistance for the advanced route. The host 1430 may be configured toenable selection of different types of directions. For example, the host1430 may be configured to enable turn-by-turn voice guided navigation,mapping directions, text directions, and/or “other” types of directions,such as walking directions or public transportation directions. The host1430 may be configured to send this information to the user of theclient device 1410 via an instant messenger service, an email, ordirectly to a client mobile/navigation application.

In one implementation, the client device 1410 alone may perform thefunctions described above. For example, the client device 1410 mayperform the functions described above by referencing an internal searchengine. In another implementation, the host 1430 alone may perform thefunctions described above. In yet another implementation, the clientdevice 1410 and the host 1430 both may perform some or all of thefunctions described above.

Other implementations are also contemplated. For example, the host mayidentify multiple alternative routes responsive to the search query, andthe host may use a different presentation style to present the multiplealternative routes to the user for consideration. For example, themultiple alternative routes may be presented to the user with each ofthe multiple points of interest color-coded to indicate the category ofthe point of interest. The alternative routes may be presented insequence or on a single map so that the user may compare the routes andselect the preferred route. In another example, the keywords or terms(e.g., the origin location, the destination location and the first andsecond points of interest) forming the query may each be received, atthe host, from a different source.

In another example, the host searches, within a perimeter surroundingthe origin location and the destination location, to identify multiplepoints of interest that are co-located. In particular and in keepingwith the above-described example, where the user is searching for a gasstation and a grocery store, the host uses a perimeter, such as theelliptical perimeter 1110 illustrated by FIG. 11, to identify a locationfor a gas station that is located near a location for a grocery store.To this end, the host identifies, within the elliptical perimeter 1110,all locations associated with the gas station and searches for alocation for a grocery store within the vicinity of each of thoselocations. In this manner, the host identifies a set of co-located gasstations and grocery stores. The host then identities routes travelingthrough each of the identified co-located gas station and grocery storeand determines the travel commitment (e.g., travel time or a traveldistance) associated with each route. The host then compares the travelcommitment of each route to identify an advance route having the minimumtravel commitment and presents that to the user. Additionally, the hostmay compare the travel commitment associated with the advanced routewith the travel commitment associated with an advanced route identifiedvia, for example, processes 100 and 1000 illustrated by FIGS. 1 and 10,respectively, to determine the one including the least travel commitmentand to present that to the user.

In another implementation, the user may not have a particulardestination in mind and may only wish to visit multiple points ofinterest. Thus, the user may generate a search query via, for example, aUI similar to the UI 200A in FIG. 2A that includes an origin locationand a label for each of the multiple points of interest. In response,the host may identify at least one location for each of the multiplepoints of interest, and the host may identify an advanced route from theorigin location through the location for each of the multiple points ofinterest.

In another implementation, the user may specify the order in which themultiple points of interest should be visited. In this scenario, thehost identifies one or more locations for each of the multiple points ofinterest. The host identifies a preliminary route that travels through alocation for each of the multiple points of interest in theuser-specified order. The host determines the travel commitment for thepreliminary route. The host may alter some or all of the locations forthe multiple points of interest to identify a new route. The hostdetermines the travel commitment for the new route and compares it tothe travel commitment of the preliminary route. If there is animprovement, the host may use the new route as the advanced route. Thehost may continue this process until the relative improvement in eachiteration is marginal. Alternatively, the host may continue this processuntil a time threshold for a route has been reached or a time limitationfor computing a route has been reached.

In another implementation, the host may communicate with a calendarapplication or other applications used to help plan a user's day. Forexample, the user may have an appointment in the user's calendar to beat a particular location at a predetermined time (e.g., pick up a childat school at 4:00 pm), and the user may request a route that enables theuser to stop at an ATM, a grocery store, and a gas station. The user mayhave previously specified this information in the calendar applicationand may communicate this information to the host via, for example,“clicking on” an export icon in the calendar application. Upon “clickingon” the export icon, a search query may be generated that includes thecurrent location of the user, the destination location, and the multiplepoints of interest the user wants to visit along the way. The hostidentifies and presents to the user one or more routes responsive to thesearch query.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method comprising:identifying, using at least one processor, a preliminary travel routebetween a first location and a second location, wherein the preliminarytravel route travels through a plurality of intermediate locations;determining a first travel commitment associated with the preliminarytravel route; rearranging, using the at least one processor, an order ofthe plurality of intermediate locations to form a modified travel route;determining a second travel commitment associated with the modifiedtravel route; determining if the second travel commitment is less thanthe first travel commitment; and selecting the modified travel routewhen it is determined that the second travel commitment is less than thefirst travel commitment.
 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1,further comprising: determining if the second travel commitment is lessthan a threshold commitment level; and selecting the modified travelroute when it is determined that the second travel commitment is lessthan the threshold commitment level.
 3. The computer-implemented methodof claim 1, further comprising: determining if the second travelcommitment exceeds a threshold commitment level; rearranging, when it isdetermined that the second travel commitment exceeds the thresholdcommitment level, the plurality of intermediate locations to form adifferent modified travel route; determining a third travel commitmentassociated with the different modified travel route; determining if thethird travel commitment is less than the threshold commitment level; andselecting the different modified travel route when it is determined thatthe third travel commitment is less than the threshold commitment level.4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:repeatedly determining modified travel routes and associated travelcommitments until a travel commitment associated with a modified travelroute is below a threshold commitment level; and selecting the modifiedtravel route for which the associated travel commitment is below thethreshold commitment level.
 5. The computer-implemented method of claim1, further comprising: repeatedly determining modified travel routes;determining travel commitments associated with the modified travelroutes; determining if a predetermined period of time has expired;ending the repeated determining of modified travel routes when it isdetermined that the predetermined period of time has expired; andselecting the modified travel route with the lowest determined travelcommitment.
 6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein noneof the determined travel commitments is lower than a thresholdcommitment level.
 7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, furthercomprising: repeatedly determining modified travel routes; determiningtravel commitments associated with the modified travel routes;determining the relative improvement in travel commitment associatedwith the modified travel routes; determining if the relative improvementin travel commitments is marginal; ending the repeated determining ofmodified travel routes when it is determined that the relativeimprovement in travel commitments is marginal; and selecting themodified travel route associated with the lowest determined travelcommitment.
 8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, whereinrearranging an order of the plurality of intermediate locationscomprises randomly rearranging the plurality of intermediate locations.9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first travelcommitment and the second travel commitment are expressed in units oftime.
 10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the firsttravel commitment and the second travel commitment are expressed inunits of distance.
 11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1,wherein the plurality of intermediate locations are user identified. 12.The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the plurality ofintermediate locations comprise a first location of a first category anda second location of a second category.
 13. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 12, wherein the first category comprises one of banks,restaurants, gas stations, or stores.
 14. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 12, wherein rearranging the order of the plurality ofintermediate locations comprises selecting a third location of the firstcategory, and replacing the first location with the third location. 15.A computer-based system comprising one or more processors and anon-transitory storage medium storing a plurality of instructions, theplurality of instructions being executable by at least one processorfor: identifying a preliminary travel route between a first location anda second location, wherein the preliminary travel route travels througha plurality of intermediate locations; determining a first travelcommitment associated with the preliminary travel route; rearranging anorder of the plurality of intermediate locations to form a modifiedtravel route; determining a second travel commitment associated with themodified travel route; determining if the second travel commitment isless than the first travel commitment; and selecting the modified travelroute when it is determined that the second travel commitment is lessthan the first travel commitment.
 16. The computer-based system of claim15, further comprising: determining if the second travel commitment isless than a threshold commitment level; and selecting the modifiedtravel route when it is determined that the second travel commitment isless than the threshold commitment level.
 17. The computer-based systemof claim 15, further comprising instructions for: determining if thesecond travel commitment exceeds a threshold commitment level;rearranging, when it is determined that the second travel commitmentexceeds the threshold commitment level, the plurality of intermediatelocations to form a different modified travel route; determining a thirdtravel commitment associated with the different modified travel route;determining if the third travel commitment is less than the thresholdcommitment level; and selecting the different modified travel route whenit is determined that the third travel commitment is less than thethreshold commitment level.
 18. The computer-based system of claim 15,further comprising instructions for: repeatedly determining modifiedtravel routes and associated travel commitments until a travelcommitment associated with a modified travel route is below a thresholdcommitment level; and selecting the modified travel route for which theassociated travel commitment is below the threshold commitment level.19. The computer-based system of claim 15, further comprisinginstructions for: repeatedly determining modified travel routes;determining travel commitments associated with the modified travelroutes; determining if a predetermined period of time has expired;ending the repeated determining of modified travel routes when it isdetermined that the predetermined period of time has expired; andselecting the modified travel route with the lowest determined travelcommitment.
 20. The computer-based system of claim 19, wherein none ofthe determined travel commitments is lower than a threshold commitmentlevel.
 21. The computer-based system of claim 15, further comprisinginstructions for: repeatedly determining modified travel routes;determining travel commitments associated with the modified travelroutes; determining the relative improvement in travel commitmentassociated with the modified travel routes; determining if the relativeimprovement in travel commitments is marginal; ending the repeateddetermining of modified travel routes when it is determined that therelative improvement in travel commitments is marginal; and selectingthe modified travel route associated with the lowest determined travelcommitment.
 22. The computer-based system of claim 15, whereinrearranging the order of the plurality of intermediate locationscomprises randomly rearranging the plurality of intermediate locations.23. The computer-based system of claim 15, wherein the first travelcommitment and the second travel commitment are expressed in units oftime.
 24. The computer-based system of claim 15, wherein the firsttravel commitment and the second travel commitment are expressed inunits of distance.
 25. The computer-based system of claim 15, whereinthe plurality of intermediate locations are user identified.
 26. Thecomputer-based system of claim 25, wherein the plurality of intermediatelocations comprise a first location of a first category and a secondlocation of a second category.
 27. The computer-based system of claim26, wherein the first category comprises one of banks, restaurants, gasstations, or stores.
 28. The computer-based system of claim 26, whereinrearranging the order of the plurality of intermediate locationscomprises selecting a third location of the first category, andreplacing the first location with the third location.